Join Our Wikipedia Edit-a-thons

Help increase the representation of women online by contributing to the largest free and open encyclopedia on the web. Beginners and experts are welcome!

Why Wikipedia?

Wikipedia is a free and open encyclopedia. Available in over 300 languages, it is consistently in the top 10 of most viewed websites globally.

However, Wikipedia isn't fully representative. Only 19% of biographies on the site are about women and only 10% of Wikipedia’s editors identify as women. The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative is committed to working towards equity on Wikipedia by adding women from our collections to the site.

Why Edit-a-thons?

Edit-a-thons are public events where we collaborate to learn how to edit Wikipedia together (training is provided at every event) about a variety of topics throughout the Smithsonian museums. These events are best suited for participants 16 and up who can make well-sourced additions to the site. 

Wednesday, February 22, 2023 at 1–3:30 p.m. (ET)

WikiAPA Edit-a-thon: Leaving a Legacy with Densho

Register

Image

With the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center

February 19 marks the anniversary of Executive Order 9066, an authorization signed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt which led to the incarceration of over 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry to concentration camps during World War II. In honor of this Day of Remembrance, this WikiAPA Edit-a-thon will address the underrepresentation of Japanese and Japanese American women on Wikipedia and Wikidata, especially those who were incarcerated during World War II and were active in speaking out and writing about their experiences. Specifically, this events’ worklist has been inspired by the women found in Densho’s archives and collections. Densho’s namesake is a Japanese term meaning “to pass on to the next generation,” or to leave a legacy. By participating in this event, we hope you’ll join us in continuing these notable women’s legacies on Wikipedia.

Since 2019, volunteers at our events increased the representation of American women on Wikipedia. Together, articles with our changes have received more than 10,636,935 million views. We have added/edited:

• 1,706,815 words
• 11,712 references 
• 1,431 new articles

In addition, participants at events learned the skills to to edit Wikipedia anytime they want.

View the worklists for past events by clicking on each event title.

2023

• Feb. 1: Wiki Focus: Black Women in Food & Drink History with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
• Jan. 8–9: Editing for Effie with the Smithsonian American Art Museum

2022

• Oct. 26: WikiAPA Edit-a-thon: We Are Here to Stay with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Sept. 15: Advocacy and Invention: A Women's History Wikipedia Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National American History Museum and the the Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
• June 6: Fifty Women Sculptors: A Wikipedia Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian American Art Museum
• May 19: WikiAPA Edit-a-thon: We Are Here with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center
• Mar. 31: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Increasing the Representation of Women in STEM with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and IfThenSheCan - The Exhibit
• Feb. 1: Wiki Focus: Black Women in Food History with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Jan. 20: 100 Women in Science at the Smithsonian with the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives

2021

• Oct. 28: Wikipedia Edit-a-thon: Women Innovators in Aviation and Spaceflight with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
• July 27: Wiki Focus: Black Women in Food History with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
• May 18: Wiki APA Edit-a-thon: She/They Edition with the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center 
• April 23: Native American Women Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian
• March 25: Women in Science Edit-a-thon: Smithsonian Groundbreakers with the Smithsonian Libraries and Archives and the Biodiversity Heritage Library

2020

• Oct. 29: Women in Finance Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
• Aug. 31: Women in Science Edit-a-thon: Smithsonian Groundbreakers with the Smithsonian Librarires and Archives
• Aug. 2020 (various dates): 19th Amendment Edit-a-thon (virtual campaign with 8 trainings) with the Library of Congress and the National Archives
• June 25: Wikipedia and Women in Science Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History
• March 13: Art and Feminism Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian American Art Museum
• March 9: Smithsonian Women, Art, and Digital Visibility, a Wikimedia Commons (structured data) editing event with the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery

2019

• Oct. 8: Ada Lovelace Day Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum
• July 12: All Work and No Pay Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History
• April 5: Votes for Women Edit-a-thon with the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery